Fires in multi-storied office buildings, stores and apartment houses present a major problem in that the firefighter must carry a supply of compressed air in compressed air bottles carried on a backpack. In addition to the backpack supply, it frequently becomes necessary for the firefighter to hand carry a spare air bottle to increase the time that can be spent in the confines of the smoke filled building before a return to a smoke free atmosphere becomes necessary.
Compressed air bottles are now available that weigh about 15-20 pounds when filled which is substantially less than the old style containers that weigh about 30-35 pounds when filled. However, even a twenty pound air bottle can become quite burdensome as the firefighter in full firefighting garb climbs the stairs of a multi-story building. The weight of a hand carried air bottle can cause hand and shoulder fatigue. The fatigued firefighter could stumble on a stair step and in attempting to regain his balance drop the air bottle endangering anyone below him. A hand carried spare air bottle would limit the firefighters ability to carry hand tools, to operate communications equipment or to assist in rescue operations.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shoulder harness equipped to hold a spare compressed air bottle to be carried by a firefighter.
It is a further object to provide a shoulder harness that will efficiently support a spare air bottle while leaving the hand of the firefighter free to grasp a hand rail as he gropes his way up a darkened smoke filled stairway.
It is a further object to provide a shoulder harness that will increase the efficiency of a firefight by leaving a hand that would otherwise be occupied with carrying an air bottle available to carry tools, operate communications equipment or to assist in rescue operations.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a spare air bottle support harness that will enhance the firefighter's safety, comfort and endurance by relieving him of possible hand and shoulder fatigue from having to hand carry the spare.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following disclosure of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.